| http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134303067_cartheft05m.html
Decal would let officers pull car over YAKIMA - Beginning next month, car owners in Washington will be able to stick decals on their vehicles that invite police to pull them over between the hours of 1 and 5 a.m. The "Watch Your Car" program is a voluntary auto-theft-prevention program funded by the federal government. But parents might also find it worthwhile for keeping an eye on late-driving teenagers. Vehicle owners will be encouraged to register with a local law-enforcement agency or the Washington State Patrol, stating that their car is not typically used during those early-morning hours. Then, if an officer sees the car being driven anywhere at that time, he or she may stop it without any other cause than to verify the right person is behind the wheel. Registered participants in the program will get decals for the front and rear windshields, designating the vehicle as part of the national Watch Your Car program. And registration information will be entered into a State Patrol database. Sometimes the problem isn't car thieves, says Larry Erickson, director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. "We have found kids who are sneaking out and taking their parents' car," he said. "They were not aware of it." The sheriffs and police-chiefs association will begin promoting the program July 9. A number of city police departments are interested in participating, including Bellevue, Redmond and Seattle, Erickson said. Yakima and Federal Way will probably be the first to get up and running. Yakima police are prepared to preregister people before the program starts. According to the sheriffs and police-chiefs association, a vehicle is stolen every 20 seconds in this country. And in Washington state, the association's annual crime report showed a 3.3 percent increase in auto theft - from 33,127 cases in 1999 to 34,223 last year. "If auto theft were legalized and incorporated, it would rank 56th among the Fortune 500 companies," the association said. The Watch Your Car program was authorized by Congress with the 1994 Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Act, and Washington will be the 11th state to participate. The District of Columbia is also part of the program. Snohomish County started a similar program - Operation CAT (Combat Auto Theft) - in 1991 but discontinued it years ago because of lack of interest, said sheriff's spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen. She said, though, that the Sheriff's Office may consider joining the "Watch Your Car" program. Erickson said law-enforcement officials in other states think the program is an effective crime-fighting tool, but he could offer no statistics to illustrate a drop in the rate of auto thefts. Seattle police Sgt. Joy Mundy of the auto-theft squad, who is helping set up the program for the city, said earlier this year that Texas has reduced its auto-theft rate by 50 percent in three years under the program. The program, sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance, has raised constitutional questions. But the bureau contends it does not present problems with the Fourth Amendment, which provides protection against unreasonable search and seizure. "It's a voluntary thing," Erickson said. The Washington chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said yesterday it was unfamiliar with the program. Information from Seattle Times staff reporter Frank Vinluan was used in this report. |
